Israeli human rights NGOs stand in solidarity with Human Rights Watch

Rabbis for Human Rights is proud to join other NGOs and civil service organisations in Israel in condemning Israel’s decision to deny Omar Shakir, a Human Rights Watch worker, a visa to enter the country. The following advertisement was published today February 26 2017 in popular print magazine Haaretz, in both Hebrew and English. Text reads:

Haaretz advertisement

“We, human rights organisations from Israel, consider Israel’s refusal to allow Omar Shakir of Human Rights Watch to enter the country a cause of grave concern. We stand in solidarity with him and our colleagues at HRW.

Israel seeks to portray itself as a card-carrying member of the club of democratic countries. Yet what is democracy without free speech, robust public debate and open criticism? A state that defines itself as democratic cannot turn its border control into a thought police.

Neither closing Israel’s borders to human rights organisations and activists nor other measures by the Israeli against organisations that criticise the occupation will deter us from continuing to report human rights violations in the territories controlled by Israel.”